Bridging Mental Health and Criminal Justice
Our mission is to promote safe and effective care for adults with serious mental illness who are involved with the criminal justice system. We specialize in providing training and technical assistance for mental health professionals, policy makers, law enforcement officials, probation and parole officers, judges and court staff, and others who serve justice-involved clients in community settings.
Our Story
People with serious mental illness are over-represented in every part of the criminal legal system including jail, prison, probation and parole settings. As two community psychiatrists at the University of Rochester Medical Center, we witnessed this problem first-hand following the downsizing of our local state hospital, Rochester Psychiatric Center (RPC). As RPC downsized throughout the 1980’s and 90’s, increasingly large numbers of former RPC patients ended up in our local Monroe County Jail. These individuals were different from our other patients – they were sicker, poorer, and less likely to accept treatment. Our experiences in caring for them taught us that this special population needs new treatment approaches, and this has been our focus for the past 30 years. At Community Forensic Interventions, we offer services to assist you in finding better ways to prevent incarceration and promote health among people with serious mental illness who are involved with the criminal legal system. Thanks for allowing us to share our experience with you.
Dr. J. Steven Lamberti
Dr. Robert L. Weisman
Rochester, NY
Available Services
Explore evidence-based prevention strategies, including Forensic Assertive Community Treatment (FACT).
